Since 1866, five generations of the Habeck family have now farmed in this picturesque corner of Manitowoc County, just south of Maribel.

During that time, the farm has undergone enormous changes, with some of the biggest taking place in the last 55 years.

When Yvonne Habeck and her late husband, Gerald, took over the family farm in 1959, they oversaw the growth of their dairy herd from 20 to about 300 cattle.

That number has increased to nearly 450 in recent years as their children, Keith and Kevin Habeck, and Kim Landt, have joined their mom in ownership of Habeck Homestead Farms and helped carry on the family tradition.

"It's just a good life," Yvonne Habeck said. "I hope there are Habecks here for many years to come."

Now, with their utilization of innovative farm practices, and the apparent interest of yet another generation of Habecks, the farm is poised for the 21st century and beyond.

Today, the Habecks grow corn and alfalfa on a total of 900 acres, some of which they own and some of which they rent.

The bulk of the farm operation is divided between Keith Habeck, who manages the field operations, and Landt, who runs the herd. In addition, Kevin Habeck and another brother, Kyle Habeck, help on the farm and seven full-time and three part-time employees assist with the three times a day milking schedule.

While their farm is firmly rooted in the past, the Habecks have some big plans for the future, including drawing up plans for an expanded dry-cow facility.

Dry cows are pregnant cows that are no longer producing milk and are resting before giving birth. By housing all these pregnant cows together for the last 60 days of their pregnancy, a social system is established and the cows can relax before giving birth.

"It's all about cow comfort," Keith Habeck said, adding that they currently have their dry cows in free stalls. "What we're looking at is putting them in smaller groups and making the area that they have larger, with less stress on them."

The plan would involve building a new facility, which could possibly start this fall.

Another innovation on the farm that began about three years ago — a computer-operated calf feeder — has already proved successful.

"Feeding calves on a computer has been around for quite a long time," Keith Habeck said, noting its popularity in Europe and Germany in particular. "It just never caught on here in the United States."

Prior to installing the automatic calf feeders, the Habecks had to feed the calves twice a day by hand, a process that could take up to two hours. With the automatic calf feeders, the calves are fed four times a day.

Ear tags are used to identify the individual calves. Those tags are then read by a computer, which automatically mixes and allows the calves to drink four rations of milk in a 24-hour period.

"The calf is allowed to drink its allotted amount, and when it's done drinking, it will be a two-hour period before the calf is allowed to drink again," Keith Habeck said.

Of course, the calf that is turned away is not always a happy calf, and more than one calf can want to drink at once.

If a calf is pushed out of the way by one of its hungry barn mates, the computer will read the chip on the other calf's ear and not allow it to finish another calf's ration.

The computer even assists in the weaning process. After 45 days, it's programmed so that the calves receive less milk and consequently eat more grain.

"It's a slow process so they're not just bellering for more milk," Keith Habeck said. "But I do notice on day 60 when they're weaned, then they're bellering…they want that last drink."

There's a fair amount of maintenance involved in cleaning and preparing the nipples used to feed the calves, but in general, the family is very happy with the system.

"One big positive with the calf computer is that it gives the calf four rations of food a day, versus twice a day, so they're getting smaller meals more often," Keith Habeck said. "The calves seem to be very contented in that environment. It helps them socialize, I guess."

Happy cows are an earmark of the Habeck farm, something that Landt works very hard at.

"We have friendly cows at the Habeck farm," Landt said. "You've got to give your cows a hug every day…at least the ones that will let me."